Two Years Later
by Mercurial Fire
Summary: Scorpius looked at Rose's hand that was resting inside his, and he wondered for the first time if maybe Albus had been right. Maybe, Rose really had loved him the way he'd loved her.


DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and his world do not belong to me.

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><p>Rose glanced over her shoulder to find him. The air whispered to her, <em>Scorpius<em>. When her eyes found him across the room, she shivered.

He just had that effect on her.

When she saw him, everything in her world stopped moving, and for that instant, only he existed. Her heart skipped a beat, and her whole body would tense with awareness. As reality came back into existence, the noises would dull as he approached her, which he inevitably would.

Even now, two years after their graduation, she could still remember every little detail about him.

And thoughts of him, now, led to thoughts of what happened during Hogwarts.

In their last year at Hogwarts, as Head students, they had become so much closer than before. For the majority of their Hogwarts careers, they had mutually existed, rarely crossing paths except when Albus would intervene to try and make his best friend and his favorite cousin spend time together.

It's not as if they didn't get along, Rose and Scorpius got along just fine. But when Albus wasn't there, their lack of similarity was too much for either of them to handle. The only other thing they had in common was schoolwork, and they couldn't even agree on that. Rose loved Transfiguration and Potions, while Scorpius just had that knack for Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

When Seventh Year came, everything changed.

To begin with, they could no longer avoid spending time with each other. _That_ was inevitable. They were co-Heads, running the student body side by side. They even shared a common room and a bathroom. That year was the year that both of them figured out just how perfectly they complemented each other. If Rose needed help with Charms, Scorpius was the go-to guy. On the other hand, if Scorpius started struggling in transfiguration, Rose was always available to help. This tutoring and school help subsequently led to their inseparability. As the days of their seventh year passed, it was rarer and rarer to see one without the other.

The only time anyone ever saw them in separated was at Quidditch. Rose, a chaser on the Gryffindor team, would obviously sever any ties to Scorpius, the Slytherin seeker, when it came to game time. Both Rose and Scorpius had fierce pride in their houses and respective teams, and neither was a particularly gracious loser. One can see pretty clearly how this led to conflicts between them.

However, even their rivalry on the Quidditch pitch could not separate them for more than a few hours.

Rose and Scorpius, Scorpius and Rose. Their names were almost never separated anymore, which subsequently led to scores of rumors about the two. A secret society that was meant to overthrow all authority at Hogwarts by recruiting the best and brightest, a sordid love affair, the Imperius curse by McGonagall because she was fed up with the inter-house tensions; each rumor was more outrageous than the last.

The real truth was much simpler. They were falling in love, but both were simply too insecure to tell the other.

Which leads to quite the story...

* * *

><p>"Rose! Hurry up!" Scorpius called in frustration. "We're going to be late!"<p>

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Rose shouted back down while scrambling to find her heels.

It was the night of Winter Formal, and the co-Heads had been planning this night for months. The time they spent planning had been valued by both of them, and they had fallen in love. When it came time for Scorpius to ask a girl and Rose to be asked by a boy, they had mutually agreed to go with each other. They both agreed that they would have spent most of the dance together anyways, running around making emergency fixes, and they both thought it a good excuse to ask the person they wanted to go with more than anything, without the pain of rejection.

Rose ran out to the Heads' common room putting her heels on, and almost tripped over herself. Scorpius put out a steadying arm, and she took it gratefully.

"We need to go now, especially since we planned this thing," Scorpius pointed out logically.

Rose rolled her eyes in response and straightened her dress. "How do I look?" she asked Scorpius.

"You look beautiful," Scorpius answered quietly. He almost hoped she would read the emotion in his voice, but another part of him was still worried about rejection.

Rose blushed lightly, responding, "You're such a flatterer, but I'll take what I get."

Scorpius put a guiding hand on her back and led her out of their common room. Rose began chattering excitedly about the ball.

But when they finally arrived, she was speechless at the beauty of the Hall.

* * *

><p>"Rose, do you want to dance?"<p>

"Yeah, of course," Rose answered lightly.

Scorpius pulled Rose in a little closer than proper, but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. She was giving him signals he couldn't ignore, and he had to know the truth.

"Rose?" he began tentatively, "is there a reason you don't have a real date to this ball?"

Rose looked up into his dark silver eyes, and debated whether or not to tell him the truth. She finally decided that he should at least know part of it. She was already taking so many chances and opening herself up for rejection, but something was pushing her tonight, telling her now or never.

Lowering her eyes from his, she replied, "Well, Scorpius, the truth is that I did want to go with a real date, but the guy I like didn't ask me." She blushed furiously at the thought that she was telling him this, but she continued, "and truthfully, going with you as Heads is the next best thing."

She chanced a glance back up at his face, but it was unreadable. For some reason, he wasn't saying anything, and she felt more and more awkward with her admission as every second passed into silence.

"What about you, Scorpius?" she asked nervously. "Why aren't you here with some of your typical arm-candy?"

Thoughts were whirring through his head. He **had** been reading all her signals wrong. She had wanted some other guy to ask her, and the only reason Scorpius was here holding her was because that guy was a chicken and hadn't asked her. The thought knocked the breath out of him, and he couldn't bring himself to answer her question truthfully. How would she react when he said that he had been trying to build up courage enough to ask her right after she admitted that she liked some other guy?

Scorpius cleared his throat to get rid of the odd sensation, and answered lightly, "Well, right now, I don't really like anyone like that. And all the girls that like me are getting pretty annoying. I mean, I don't think I could stand it if another girl came up to me and told me she loved me, and it would mean the world to her if I liked her too. I guess I just didn't want to lead on any of those girls if I asked them, so I just didn't ask anyone."

Rose's heart skipped a beat nervously. She felt a chill spread through her body when she realized how close she'd come to doing just that. What a fool she had been to think that she should have told him her feelings. Rose's heart pounded furiously at the thought that she probably would have said that exact phrase too. His words echoed in her head, and she had to strain herself not to cry right then and there. She could almost feel her heart breaking, and she finally understood why she never had the guts to tell him how she felt. Rejection hurt like hell, and she had been smart to avoid it before.

Her heart pounding in her ears, Rose couldn't stand being so close to him anymore, knowing that he didn't like her and that he didn't want her to like him. She broke out of his arms suddenly, and said, "I'm not feeling well right now, Scorpius, so I'm going to go back to my room for a while."

Scorpius frowned at her, asking, "Are you alright? Do you want me to take you to Madame Pomfrey?"

Rose shook her head, "No, I'll be fine later. Do you mind running the rest of the ball without me?"

Scorpius shook his head wordlessly.

"Thanks Scorpius, I'll see you later." She turned around quickly and left the dance floor, then the Great Hall, and when she was finally out of sight, Scorpius still stood there in shock. One minute, he'd been chatting with her lightly, and the next, she ran out on him.

His thoughts went back to her words. She liked some other bloke, and all the signals he thought he had been reading from her were wrong. He frowned and wanted to punch something to relieve his anger. She had been flirting with him, he knew it! She'd been blushing at all the right times, and touching him a little more than necessary for two friends going to the dance under business pretences.

Scorpius wanted to yell in anger, but he had a job to do. His emotions could take care of themselves later.

And that night marked the last time either Rose or Scorpius tried to bring up the suggestion of them as a couple. After graduation, both of them had been too afraid of ruining their friendship, and in the end, it was that fear that ruined them. They were both too scared to try and keep in contact, for fear that it would reveal them to be desperately in love, and so they lost contact. When no owls or letters came from one, the other assumed that meant that they did not want to keep in contact. They mutually lost each other.

* * *

><p>Until now. Two years later, both Rose and Scorpius were successfully on their way to achieving their dreams…without each other.<p>

Yet somehow, they both ended up at this gala. For the first time since graduation, Rose felt the same peculiar effect that only Scorpius could have on her.

Albus had noticed her lack of response, and turned to see what Rose was looking at. Or more accurately, _whom_ Rose was looking at.

During Hogwarts, Albus had stubbornly stood by his belief that Rose and Scorpius belonged together. Unbeknownst to Rose, Albus had spent significant time their seventh year trying to convince Scorpius that Rose was just as infatuated as he was. He'd been making good progress when suddenly, everything screeched to a halt. Quoting what Rose said at Winter Formal, Scorpius destroyed any argument Albus could have possibly presented. She liked some other guy, and Scorpius was just her second choice. Albus had no way to convince him otherwise.

Rose would skillfully deflect the topic whenever Albus tried to bring up Scorpius, so he soon gave up on both fronts. His two best friends were destined to ruin their own lives through their fear of rejection.

But this was an interesting development.

Albus poked Rose lightly in the stomach. She flinched and jerked as if she'd been burned. When she turned to Albus, his steady gaze let her know that she'd been caught staring at Scorpius.

Defensively, she asked, "What?"

Albus sighed. "Rose, what happened between the two of you? I thought you two liked each other… as more than friends."

Rose's heart clenched, and she turned away from Albus. Swallowing her pain, she replied, "I don't think that both of us felt the same way, Albus. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to stop by the restroom."

Walking away, Rose resisted the urge to look at Scorpius again, acutely aware of the fact that Albus was watching her retreating back.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the room, Scorpius was nodding halfheartedly to some old businessman trying to proposition him. As the sole heir of the Malfoy line, he was growing in to quite a fortune.<p>

However, Scorpius wasn't interested in investing in any companies. He wanted to build his fortune through an honest living, as an Auror. He wanted to live off of his own hard earned money, not some fortune he'd inherited. And he knew that he was smart enough to be able to.

Only half paying attention, his eyes wandered across the large ballroom. When he saw Albus, his face lightened into a smile. Politely excusing himself from the businessman, Scorpius made his way over to where Albus was talking to a young lady. As he drew nearer, he realized the young lady was Mari, Rose's closest friend. When he recognized her, he paused, looking for Rose somewhere nearby. When he didn't find her, he continued towards Albus.

As he approached them, he opened his mouth to greet them when he caught sight of Rose. She was emerging from the Ladies' Room, and she was headed directly for him.

Scorpius closed his mouth quickly, wary of looking like a gaping fool, but internally, his heart was going wild. This was the first time he'd seen her in two years, and she was just as stunning as always. Scorpius was careful to mask his reaction to her, though, and any passing party guest only saw the calm and collected Scorpius that had risen so high in the Ministry.

When a hand reached out to touch his shoulder, Scorpius jumped, ruining his calm façade. It was only Albus, though, and he gave Scorpius a knowing look. As Scorpius looked for Mari, he noticed that she had gone to retrieve Rose.

Scorpius turned to Albus as Albus said quietly, "Scorpius… I don't know exactly what happened between you and Rose, but I'm almost positive you two had a miscommunication. From what both of you have told me, neither one of you denies liking the other. From just her side of the story, I would have actually thought that you told her that you didn't like her." Pausing for a moment, he let Scorpius absorb the information.

Scorpius was still watching Rose and Mari cross the room to where they were standing. They were intercepted multiple times by acquaintances and old friends.

Albus continued, "I know that I tried to get you two together in school, and for some reason, it didn't work. But now, this is one of your last chances Scorpius. After this gala, Rose is up for promotion, and she said she might end up moving to France to work in the hospital there. She likes you, okay?"

Scorpius shook his head helplessly. "Albus, I'm positive she liked someone else. She as good as told me so."

Albus spoke faster as he watched Rose approach them. "Scorpius, listen to me. She thinks that you get annoyed with girls professing their love for you, and that's why she didn't bother telling you that she liked you. But I know that she did. Trust me, please. Take this chance to make both of you happy."

Scorpius opened his mouth to respond, but Rose was upon them. Smiling brightly, she greeted Scorpius, "Hey, Scorpius. It's been a while, huh?"

Scorpius cleared his throat before responding, "Yeah, it has."

Albus quietly slipped away to where Mari was standing, leaving Rose and Scorpius alone together for the first time since graduation.

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><p>Rose looked at her shoes awkwardly, as Scorpius tried to look anywhere but at her. This situation, where the two of them were alone with all their thoughts and questions of each other, was what both of them had been secretly hoping for while simultaneously dreading it. When Scorpius could no longer fight the urge to look at Rose, his eyes roamed over her features.<p>

His analytical brain was already noting the differences between the Rose he had known and the one standing in front of him. The slight bags under her eyes that indicated worries he'd had no idea of, the way her face had thinned out either from lack of proper nutrition or merely growing up, the world-weary experience that showed in her posture. All these things were unfamiliar to him. Scorpius was painfully aware of the time that had passed, and the physical changes, however small, that showed that Rose was not the same person she'd been two years earlier.

But then there was the nervous was she was biting her bottom lip, the familiar curve of her smile, and her eyes. Of course her eyes, dark blue and inquisitive, hadn't changed. He could still recognize her, and he'd bet his fortune that she was still the girl he'd fallen in love with years before. With the information Albus had just offered, his mind was running through possibilities. Could Rose have been just as infatuated with him as he had been with her? Could she still be? With that thought, Scorpius's gaze intensified considerably.

When Rose finally mustered the courage to look at Scorpius, she was startled to find his gaze upon her, dark and serious. She laughed nervously, asking, "What? Is there something on my face?" As she lifted her hand to her face, Scorpius caught her wrist, the first physical contact the two shared since Winter Formal.

Clearing his throat, Scorpius replied huskily, "No. There's nothing on your face." As he lowered their hands, his grip slipped from her wrist to grasp her hand. She looked down at their joined hands, and looked back up at him with an unreadable expression.

Swallowing nervously, he asked, "Do you want to go outside for a walk? Getting some fresh air would be a relief to me."

"Sure," she replied calmly. With their hands still clasped together, they slipped out of the ballroom.

* * *

><p>Scorpius and Rose strolled through the gardens with almost normal conversation. Neither of them addressed their relationship until they sat down on a bench, and a question burst from Rose's mouth before she could stop herself. "Why didn't you ever try to keep in contact, Scorpius?"<p>

Startled by the sudden question, Scorpius scrambled for an answer. "Well, why didn't you?" he asked defensively.

Embarrassed, Rose looked around at the trees and flowers surrounding them. "Well… I guess that I just didn't want to bother you," she answered honestly. "I know that being an auror is time consuming, and I thought that if you wanted to keep in touch with me, you would have."

Scorpius looked at Rose's hand that was resting inside his, and he wondered for the first time if maybe Albus had been right. Maybe, Rose really had loved him the way he loved her.

"Rose, you could never bother me. I would have been happy to hear from you. We were such good friends, and I just think it's such a shame that we fell out of touch." Looking at her face again, Scorpius continued hesitantly, "We should make sure that it never happens again, right?"

Rose squeezed his hand in response. "Of course," she vocalized. When she turned her face toward his, they looked at each other seriously, both wondering what was about to happen.

Almost as if gravity was working on them, they leaned in. Their breathing was the only sound in the whole garden. "It's just that… Goddammit Rose. I can't do this."

"Do what?" She asked confused, looking into his eyes. Then, glancing at their clasped hands, she began to wonder. What had Albus told him when she had walked up to them? Did he think that he had a responsibility to her for breaking her heart? Was this easy conversation and good company just a mask to say sorry? Had she really been gullible enough to believe that he could actually love her back?

As her heart thumped wildly in her chest, tears began to well in her eyes in response to what she believed he was about to say.

He released his breath with a whoosh. Quietly, he confessed, "Rose, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else before you, and probably more than I'll love anyone else I'll ever meet. I've loved you since Hogwarts, and I never thought that you felt the same, which is why I never said anything. Being your friend was worth so much to me, and no one could convince me that any form of a love confession would be taken well by you. But now, with you sitting here in the starlight, I can't help but wonder."

Rose was breathless and speechless with his confession. "Scorpius…"

He looked at her with his liquid silver eyes, willing her to see all his emotions. "Rose."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Yes," came the quiet response.

And then she leaned in, and brushed her lips against his. The slight contact electrified both of them, and the second contact was much more demanding. Scorpius's hands came up to cup Rose's face, and her hands pulled his head closer to her. Lips pressed together, arms holding each other; there was nowhere that either of them would rather have been.

When they separated for air, Rose whispered, "I love you too."

With shy smile from Rose, Scorpius took the opportunity to lean in again, with the promise of a future together.

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><p>AN: Hello dear readers,<p>

I've been away from the world of FanFiction for two years, so the title of this piece refers as much to me as it does to the actual story.

Soo... PLEASE review. My writing is out of practice (and the ending to this story was really hard to write), but I really want to start writing more again.

If the story was interesting but something seemed out of place, it just takes a minute to submit a review :)

Or, if you just thought the story was awesome, I could really use a confidence boost :D

~Thanks,

Mercurial Fire


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